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Wow, they really figured TV was a disposable medium back then, didn't they? I've heard of shows remaking scripts from other shows, and there's a Bionic Woman episode that's a remake of a Six Million Dollar Man episode -- but the same show doing the same script twice, five years apart? I've never seen that before.

There were more than one of the BIONIC WOMAN/SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN remakes. I don't remember how many offhand, but the one I remember most involved Jaime and Rudy/Steve and Oscar getting stranded on a deserted island with an assassin after Rudy/Oscar. A lot of effort went into reusing effects while handwaving in new stories to justify them, as well.

As far as BEWITCHED is concerned, reusing scripts was prevalent in the '60s for series that went from B/W to color. It was mostly happenstance that the new, color versions all had a new Darren as well. Several Lost In Space B/W episodes were redone in color.

I believe Dragnet did this to some extent as well.

I believe the only out and out reusing of an old Dragnet for the 60s version, was the famous 'The Christmas Story", which was a remake of the classic B&W "Big Little Jesus" : http://www.tv.com/shows/dragnet/the-...-story-142768/ They even used most of the cast from the old one!

The Avengers is a very notable example of remaking episodes, as several of the later colour Rigg episodes were straight down the line reuses of Honnor Blackman scripts.

Officially, the excuse was the show was now selling in America and Americans hadn't seen the videotaped episodes so why not reuse them (that seems a bit heartless on the British viewers only a couple of years removed from the original broadcast, but by the time it went into "Color" The Avengers was basically an American series, the B&W Emma Peel season was the last to actually be commissioned by ITV, after that all renewals were down to the Yanks).

However, there is something a bit odd about all this suggesting something a bit more than just wanting to get good scripts out there in America. All the remakes happen fairly closely together in the colour Rigg episodes, both before and after there aren't any, despite there being a few more they could have done in the film era style.

Being a series that involves Brian Clements and Terry Nation (two men who never let a good idea go to waste), there are lots of examples of episodes reusing ideas from previous ones (The House That Jack Built has a lot in common with Don't Look Behind You, which ironically was one of the episodes they remade later, as The Joker), but word for word remakes are just contained within that very brief period of the show's run. It creates the impression there were some serious behind the scenes problems that meant they needed some easy to use scripts in a hurry.

Vaguely on thread: The character who gave The Avengers its name in the first episode was played by Patrick Macnee's one time wife and future squeese of Dr. McCoy Catherine Woodville.

Here is Roger Carmel in the 1964 series finale of Route 66, playing a prototype of the Harry Mudd character - an American dealing black market goods in Soviet Russia. Note the mannerisms Carmel would later retain for the Mudd character.

^^^
He also appeared in an episode of I Spy as a character that was very much to my eye a prototype for Mudd.

Well that really was his specialty - playing blustering con men or comical authority types. Every actor has their signature bits and mannerisms. Carmel worked a LOT in the 60s, because he had an effective character type he could play.

It will be interesting to see in These Are the Voyages 2, how difficult *ahem* expensive it was to get Carmel for the second Harry Mudd show - when they are writing a show specifically for a character you did, you most likely get a nice payday.

Saw Michael Ansara on Lost In Space a few days ago, playing the ruler of some planet. Though Kurt Russell as his son was a more of a surprise. Unfortunately Kurt Russell was never on Star Trek. He would have been great in "Miri" or "And The Children Shall Lead".

I just saw James Doohan in the 1965 movie The Satan Bug. It was an uncredited, non-speaking part, but he had a fair amount of screen time as, essentially, a redshirt (or rather, the junior member of a pair of ill-fated federal agents). The movie also featured TNG guest star John Anderson, and was scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

I just saw James Doohan in the 1965 movie The Satan Bug. It was an uncredited, non-speaking part, but he had a fair amount of screen time as, essentially, a redshirt (or rather, the junior member of a pair of ill-fated federal agents). The movie also featured TNG guest star John Anderson, and was scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

He is also in The Wheeler Dealers, a 1963 comedy with Lee Remick and James Garner. He is in it at the very end, in the climatic trial scene playing Garner's attorney. He has a few lines, but is uncredited (credits in movies started getting more complete with movies like The Godfather). That scene alone is chock full of familiar TV faces like: John Astin, a pre- Laugh-In Alan Sues - who gets to roll his eyes, Jim Backus, Jack Benny's old bandleader, Phil Harris, and so on. The judge is a guy named Charles Lane, who was THE guy playing business execs, judges and bankers in sitcoms. He was almost in more Bewitched episodes, than some of the cast members. Surprised HE never showed up in Trek -perhaps Nilz Baris. Its on TCM quite a bit, so its worth catching.